On December 12–13, the Ministry of Digital Technologies of the Republic of Uzbekistan, together with IT Park Uzbekistan and IT Park Ventures, held the international Digital Startup Awards Grand Finale in Tashkent — one of the largest initiatives in Central Eurasia with a total prize fund of $1 million.

 

 

The program aims to identify high-potential projects, support entrepreneurship, and stimulate innovation across the regional startup ecosystem. Startups from Armenia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Turkmenistan, and Mongolia were invited to participate, while startups from Uzbekistan competed in the Best Startup Project track.

 

In 2025, the program attracted strong interest from founders and technology teams across Central Asia, the Caucasus, and Mongolia. A total of 1,025 applications were submitted, including 397 in the Best Startup Project track, 268 in the Incubation track, and 360 in the Acceleration track.

 

 

The competition was announced on July 1, 2025, with applications accepted until September 10, 2025. Within the Incubation and Acceleration tracks, teams went through screening and interviews, after which they gained access to international experts and mentors, training sessions, intensive workshops, and networking opportunities with technology teams, corporations, and venture capital funds. In the Best Startup Project track, selection took place through offline semifinals organized in the participating countries.

 

 

In the final stage of the program, projects from all three tracks were presented:

 

• 29 startups successfully completed the Incubation and Acceleration programs
• 22 startups advanced in the Best Startup Project track

 

Overview of Competition Stages

 

 

Incubation

 

Thirty startups were selected following screening and interviews with track managers and lead trackers. The program was conducted online and lasted 10 weeks, after which 15 startups successfully completed the program and received $10,000 SAFE investments each from IT Park Ventures. The finalists traveled to Tashkent and presented their projects at Demo Day on December 12.

 

 

These 15 teams are developing solutions at the intersection of AI, HR Tech, EdTech, MedTech, LogTech, and GreenTech. Their projects include AI recruiters, platforms for improving education quality and health self-monitoring, sustainable consumption solutions, logistics services, and tools for small businesses.

 

 

Participating startups:

 

• Flyhunt.AI — Kazakhstan
• Lingozy — Azerbaijan
• Snack Pack — Azerbaijan
• Wedrive — Georgia
• Opportunities Nearby — Turkmenistan
• PawPrint — Kazakhstan
• qMed — Kazakhstan
• ComBoards — Kazakhstan
• Hinlen — Turkmenistan
• TrackSage — Kazakhstan
• Intelligent Mobility MS — Kazakhstan
• Matero (Unveil) — Tajikistan
• Okushy — Kazakhstan
• AppGrade — Kazakhstan
• Zootel — Turkmenistan

 

 

The incubation program became a starting point for technology teams developing socially impactful and environmentally sustainable products capable of transforming local markets and scaling across the region.

 

 

Acceleration

 

Fourteen startups successfully completed the acceleration program. Investments were provided based on qualitative progress achieved during the program, with startups receiving up to $50,000 SAFE investments from IT Park Ventures.

 

 

The acceleration track featured teams offering solutions in AI, GovTech, B2B SaaS, EdTech, HR Tech, and business process automation. Their products addressed trade digitalization, sales optimization, customer support, document management, logistics, educational services, and data processing tools — demonstrating the maturity of regional technologies and the teams’ readiness to scale internationally.

 

 

Investments were awarded to:

 

• AVM.AI, Kazakhstan — $50,000
• Avto-time, Kazakhstan — $25,000
• Clario, Kazakhstan — $50,000
• Epsilon3.ai, Tajikistan — $25,000
• Layf, Armenia — $50,000
• Moon AI, Kazakhstan — $50,000
• Oneplace.HR, Mongolia — $50,000
• Porte Tech, Kazakhstan — $50,000
• Recepta, Azerbaijan — $50,000
• Robospark, Kazakhstan — $50,000
• Rosta, Kazakhstan — $25,000
• Smarthub, Tajikistan — $50,000

 

 

Best Startup Project

 

Offline semifinals were held in nine countries in October–November. Twenty-two startups advanced to the final, including 18 from Central Eurasian countries and 4 from Uzbekistan.

 

 

Participating startups included:Bezen, E-mekdep (Turkmenistan); POS.TJ, Predictory (Tajikistan); Uwish, EGUNE AI (Mongolia); EMPY, ReEducate, Pixelait (Armenia); PromConsulting, OptimTrade, MamaSpace (Kyrgyzstan); Cyberpack, Multicode (Kazakhstan); Telagri, Kings International (Georgia); Starkid Stories, Tryverse (Azerbaijan); Uysot, Tezbor, HGT, and Fleetroot (Uzbekistan).

 

The track featured solutions in EdTech, FinTech, E-Commerce, GovTech, AI, SaaS, as well as projects focused on sustainable development and creative industries. Participants included platforms for digitalizing education and healthcare, tools to improve trade and logistics efficiency, and analytics and artificial intelligence solutions.

 

The jury consisted of representatives from international venture funds and accelerators from Egypt, South Korea, Oman, the United States, and the Czech Republic.

 

Award Winners

 

 

1st Place — $40,000 Multicode (Kazakhstan)

Sector: SaaS

Description: An AI-powered B2B SaaS platform for freight railcar operators aimed at optimizing operational processes.

Founder: Anuar Sarsembinov

 

 

2nd Place — $25,000 HGT (Uzbekistan)

Sector: GovTech

Description: A technology startup focused on digitalizing the utilities sector and developing a secure and user-friendly payment system.

Founder: Alisher Todjiev

 

 

3rd Place — $15,000 Telagri (Georgia)

Sector: FinTech

Description: A platform that reduces agricultural lending risks by transforming farm data into financial indicators, helping banks manage risk and farmers improve productivity.

Founder: Irakli Chikava

 

 

Best Female Startup — $10,000 MamaSpace (Kyrgyzstan)

Sector: MedTech

Description: An AI-powered platform with expert support in maternal health, providing reliable recommendations for mothers.

Founder: Gulnaza Khalbambetova

 

In addition, a $10,000 prize fund was awarded to program ambassadors, distributed among representatives of the countries whose startups placed in the top three positions. This award recognized their contribution to developing startup ecosystems, supporting teams, and promoting the initiative at the national level.

 

The prizes were distributed as follows:

 

• 1st place: $5,000
• 2nd place: $3,000
• 3rd place: $2,000

 

The Digital Startup Awards program became a true symbol of unity across the Central Eurasian region, opening new opportunities for startup scaling and helping remove barriers between countries. The event not only strengthened cooperation between ecosystems but also demonstrated that joint efforts can shape a new generation of regional technology leaders.